


Me and You Against the World

by suhoneymod



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Blood, Explicit Language, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-11-01 13:26:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10922718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suhoneymod/pseuds/suhoneymod
Summary: Kim Junmyeon does not believe in happy endings. Neither does Zhang Yixing.





	Me and You Against the World

**Author's Note:**

> (Prompt #118)
> 
> by [amethyst55](https://www.asianfanfics.com/profile/view/526111)

As soon as Junmyeon takes his designated seat in his classroom which was right at the back next to the windows, his best friends Baekhyun and Jongdae automatically come bounding towards his desk.

“Yo Junmyeon! We’re still going to go for karaoke after school, right?” Baekhyun grins as he drums his fingers on the surface of Junmyeon’s desk.

When Junmyeon gives a nod in response, both Baekhyun and Jongdae cheer loudly, exchanging high fives with each other. 

“I can’t wait to sing some SHINee songs. We only managed to sing one song from them before our time was up last time,” Jongdae muses. 

“We just have to manage our time wisely this time. I say we pick the songs that we want to sing beforehand so that we won’t waste so much time deciding on a song like last time,” Junmyeon suggests. 

“That is a good idea,” Baekhyun agrees with Jongdae nodding his head beside him. 

Soon, one of their female classmates Seulgi bounce towards his desk, coming up behind Baekhyun and Jongdae, and putting a hand on each of their shoulders. 

“Hey! Are the three of you free next weekend? I’ll be hosting a birthday party in my house and I hope you guys can come!” Seulgi grins, giving all of them an expectant look.

“Sure!” Junmyeon replies, smiling brightly. 

“That’s great!” Seulgi claps her hands together. “The party is going to be so much fun with you three around!”

Shortly afterwards, another classmate of theirs plods towards them, slamming his textbook and lecture pad on Junmyeon’s desk. 

“Junmyeon, can you please help me with this math problem?” Chanyeol wails. “I’ve been stuck on this problem for hours and hours and it’s driving me nuts!”

The four of them chuckle lightly to themselves. Chanyeol has always had a flair for the dramatics. 

“Don’t worry. This is actually pretty simple,” Junmyeon assures the other before starting to explain the math problem. 

“That’s it? I’ve been losing sleep over this for nothing!” Chanyeol smacks his own forehead.

“I told you. It’s easy,” Junmyeon smiles at him.

“Thank you, Junmyeon! You’re really a lifesaver!” 

“Hey guys, did you hear?” The five of them turn their heads to face Luhan who is currently standing in front of Junmyeon’s desk. “Twenty-one students from Class 7 were down with food poisoning yesterday. The school launched an investigation and traced the poisoning to the school cafeteria food.”

“Twenty-one? That’s more than half of the number of students in this class!” Seulgi openly gasps.

“But to have  _ that _ many people down with food poisoning…that is so scary!” Chanyeol pales in response.

“Why would anyone even poison the school food?” Baekhyun wonders out loud.

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s all because of-” Jongdae begins to say when there is the sound of a chair being pulled across the floor near them. They switch their gazes to silently watch the student who has just arrived and sat on his designated seat which is next to Junmyeon. 

_ Zhang Yixing.  _

Nobody in school dares to say out his name, fearing that it will bring bad luck to them.

_ But then again, who wouldn’t be terrified of the son of a mafia boss?  _

Today, Yixing is wearing a pair of dark sunglasses which clashes greatly with his school uniform – the standard white shirt with a light blue blazer, a pair of light blue tailored trousers and a striped tie. Not to mention, students are strictly not allowed to wear sunglasses or disciplinary action will be taken. But this is Zhang Yixing so it is not surprising if he flouts the school rules without caring about the consequences.

“Speak of the devil,” Jongdae rolls his eyes. The others respond with loud snorts while Junmyeon silently watches Yixing who is currently busying himself with scraping a piece of gum that is lodged on his desk.  Being the person who sits next to Yixing, Junmyeon notices some of his classmates and even students who are not from his class entering his classroom just to deface Yixing’s desk. Some were content with just sticking multiple gums all over the surface and legs of the desk or scrawling swear words with permanent marker while some took the extra length to coat the entire desk surface with nail polish, grease or even fish oil. Junmyeon does not know which is worse: the students who go out of their away to contribute to Yixing’s inconvenience in school and manage to get away with it every single time or the teachers who let this slide and pretend that the smell of the fish oil is not suffocating the entire class. 

“And just last week, three students suffered from wrist and leg sprains from using defective gym equipment during their PE classes,” Luhan adds. 

“That’s really unfortunate. One of them is from my friend’s class and she has to walk on crutches for a month,” Seulgi shakes her head, her eyebrows knitting together in worry.  

The group then lapses into silence. Meanwhile, Junmyeon notices his classmates surreptitiously edging closer to his own desk – more specifically, moving away from Yixing’s desk. 

“Let’s face it,” Baekhyun breaks the silence. “Ever since  _ that _ incident, our school has never been normal.”

_ That _ incident refers to the time when everyone in school starts to fear Yixing and avoid him as though he is some kind of dangerous plague. Prior to that incident, Yixing had plenty of friends and was generally quite well-liked. 

It all began when a gang of hooligans trespassed their school grounds, declaring that they had a score to settle with a certain Zhang Yixing. All the hooligans seemed to be in their late twenties, and they were all burly and beefy. Some bold students had tried to plead with them to leave and not cause a disturbance but of course, they refused to budge. Even when Miss Yoon, their disciplinary mistress, stepped in, they still refused to leave. Soon enough, Yixing appeared and initiated a big brawl with the gang of hooligans without hesitation. Despite being obviously outnumbered, Yixing managed to give each of them a pretty violent beating that they were all knocked unconscious. Not to mention, it was very bloody, with a huge pool of blood foaming around them. 

Who knew that the scrawny-looking Yixing had it in him? 

Unfortunately, the school was not impressed with Yixing’s behaviour so they slapped him with a week of suspension. Ever since then, rumours started to circulate around the school. At first, most of the student body viewed Yixing as heroic vigilante who took matters into his own hands and beat up bad people for hassling innocent people. However, their mindset gradually went the opposite direction when Yixing started to appear in school with dried blood on his knuckles and nasty bruises on his face more often. More students, and even the teachers began to suspect that Yixing was involved in gang-related activities. 

Then one day, someone managed to successfully run a background check on Yixing and the information spread to the whole school like wildfire. Zhang Yixing turns out to be the son of Zhang Junlong, the fearsome and cold-blooded, and current leader of the Zhang Mafia which is the biggest and most powerful mafia in East Asia.  

Since that was revealed, everyone in school starts to avoid Yixing, giving him a wide berth in the hallway as he walks past and immediately retreating out of the school courtyard as soon as he arrives. 

Because what if Yixing starts beating people up out of nowhere? No one is going to risk that possibility. 

But Junmyeon saw  _ that _ incident in its entirety with his own eyes. As far as Junmyeon remembers, Yixing did not land the first punch on the one of the hooligans until they shoved Miss Yoon to the ground and kicked her sides till she bled and dislocated her shoulder. 

-

“That Chinese boy sitting at the back! Remove your sunglasses! It’s very rude and distracting while I’m teaching the whole class!” 

Junmyeon glances up from jotting down his notes to see his Science teacher with a furious expression on her face. 

“And it is against the school rules. I’ll have no choice but to write your name down for disciplinary misconduct.”

Like the rest of the class, Junmyeon watches Yixing intently as the latter smoothly removes his sunglasses to reveal a nasty black eye. Yixing does not seem bothered at all by the fact that his black eye is swollen shut. His expression remains indifferent to the sounds of appalled gasps and hushed whispers calling him a ‘freak’. Even their teacher seems speechless.

“I-It’s okay. You c-can continue wearing your sunglasses. N-Now class, like what I’ve said last week about the Power Law…” their teacher continues nervously as if a student showing their black eye is a common occurrence in class. 

From the corner of his eye, Junmyeon notices Yixing silently putting his sunglasses back on before rubbing on his notebook softly with an eraser. 

-

“That was incredibly fun, guys!” Baekhyun stretches his arms in satisfaction as they exit the karaoke lounge. 

“Yeah! It is also a great to de-stress ourselves before the hectic exam period kicks in, right Junmyeon?” Jongdae grins as he drapes an arm around Junmyeon’s shoulder.

“That’s right,” Junmyeon chuckles lightly. 

It is already night time by the time they ended their karaoke session. The roads are quiet and there are very few vehicles driving by. 

“See you guys in school tomorrow!” Junmyeon waves at his best friends before they part ways. Junmyeon’s house is at the opposite direction of where both Baekhyun and Jongdae live so Junmyeon is currently alone as he heads home. He has only covered a quarter of a mile when he feels his phone vibrating in his pocket. It is a text message from his mother.

_ Your dad is having one of his episodes again. Head to your aunt’s house after you’re done hanging out with your friends. _

Letting out a heavy sigh, Junmyeon begrudgingly pivots his heel to head to the opposite direction which is where his aunt’s house is located. As he walks past an alley, a strange odour invades his senses that he pauses on his tracks. Junmyeon takes a few steps backwards and turns his head towards the alley. Even with a little light, Junmyeon can see that the alley is cramped and narrow with a huge green dumpster. Not to mention, an arm sticking out from inside the dumpster. 

Wait. An arm?

Curiosity getting the better of him, Junmyeon switches on his phone flashlight before edging closer to the dumpster. Using his free hand, he opens the lid of the dumpster and focuses his phone flashlight on the person trapped inside. 

Junmyeon gasps when he identifies the person as Zhang Yixing. His eyes widen to the size of saucers as they take in Yixing’s crumpled and bloodied uniform, and the wide red gash on his forehead.

“Yixing? Yixing?” Junmyeon softly calls out as he gently taps Yixing’s cheek repeatedly. But he receives no response. 

Hesitantly, Junmyeon checks Yixing’s pulse and is relieved to find out that Yixing is still alive and breathing. His heart beating a mile a minute, Junmyeon ponders over what to do next. Junmyeon may not be a medicine student but even he can tell that Yixing’s wounds are not self-inflicted. And with how fresh Yixing’s wounds look, the people who beat him up may not be quite far from them right now. What if they are going to return to give Yixing a second beating? 

Terrified at that thought, Junmyeon quickly lugs Yixing’s body out of the dumpster and the alley, and immediately calls for a taxi. Junmyeon ignores the shifty glances from the taxi driver as the latter drives them to the nearest hospital. Since Junmyeon is not heading home anyway, he sends a text message to his mother, telling her that he will be spending the night in the hospital with a friend. 

-

Opening his bleary eyes, Junmyeon let out a small yawn as his mind starts to register the soft and cosy material currently covering him. As his vision clears, he realizes that there is a large, blue blanket draped over his body. His eyes continue to survey his surroundings, slowly taking in the spotless, white floor beneath his shoe and the enormous, white bed in front of him.

_ Why is there white everywhere? _

His eyes then rest on a familiar-looking person who is currently staring at him. Squinting his eyes, Junmyeon gradually realizes that the familiar-looking person is actually Yixing. Junmyeon snaps awake, nearly falling off his chair. Yixing’s head is now wrapped with bandages around his forehead, and his left eye is still heavily bruised from this morning. Rubbing the back of his neck nervously, Junmyeon clears his throat.

“H-Hello,” Junmyeon greets but it sounds more like a squeak. “How are you feeling?”

When Yixing continues to fix him with a strange stare, Junmyeon mentally kicks himself. Of course…why would Yixing even want to talk to him anyway? 

“I’m feeling better,” comes Yixing’s reply. Junmyeon’s eyes widen. Even though Yixing has been sitting next to him in class for a long time now, this is the first time that Junmyeon has ever heard the other boy speak. The sound of Yixing’s voice is mellow and strong, instantly capturing the listener.

“That’s great,” Junmyeon replies, feeling dazed. He catches himself and quickly snaps himself out of it. He remembers everything clearly now. Once he had stepped inside the hospital, he yelled for the doctors and nurses to attend to Yixing. Junmyeon then waited for hours and hours, praying that Yixing would be alright and alive. With the way he paced aimlessly about the room, Junmyeon was certain that he had worn down the floor. When he was finally allowed to see Yixing, Junmyeon quickly took a seat beside the sleeping boy’s bed and merely watched over him, thanking God that Yixing is still alive. Junmyeon thought he must have felt tired afterwards so he must have dozed off without realizing it. 

“I’m glad that you are alright, Yixing,” Junmyeon blurts out. Realizing what he has just said, Junmyeon waves his hands in front of him frantically, “I’m sorry! I know that it must be weird that I’m calling you by your name despite us never talking to each other before this! It’s just I heard your name around so I knew-”

“It’s fine,” Yixing stops him. “I don’t mind.”

“I actually like hearing you say my name,” Yixing admits. “People are usually afraid to say my name out loud. And even when they do, it’s always filled with contempt.”

Junmyeon eyes Yixing sympathetically. Being treated like a public enemy must be really tough for Yixing. 

“Can I call you by your name as well?” Yixing shyly asks and Junmyeon is close to screaming. “I also knew your name beforehand because of all your friends calling you. I mean, you’re so well-loved in school.”

“Of course,” Junmyeon beams at the other boy.

“Then, Junmyeon, I have something to tell you,” Yixing begins softly. Junmyeon unconsciously leans forward in anticipation. “You have some drool running down the side of your face.”

Cheeks flushing, Junmyeon instantly covers his entire face, letting out a small shriek. To his surprise, he hears Yixing bursting into laughter. Junmyeon cannot believe his eyes. Right before him, Yixing has the aura of an ordinary teacher, not the son of a mafia boss with a violent streak. 

Noticing that Junmyeon is staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights, Yixing stops laughing. “I’m sorry! That must be really mean of me! I was just joking of course! It’s just you look so tense that I just can’t help but tease you. And you looked so peaceful while you slept just now so I couldn’t bring myself to wake you up either. So, I asked one of the nurses to bring a blanket for you.”

Clutching the blanket around him, Junmyeon speaks up, “So it was you? Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Yixing smiles at him, a dimple forming on his right cheek.

Junmyeon stands up. “I’m going to wash my face now.”

 

Junmyeon has only walked a couple of steps forward when a hand grabs his wrist. 

“Thank you, Junmyeon,” Yixing says before letting go of Junmyeon.

-

In the attached washroom in Yixing’s ward, Junmyeon stares at his own reflection in the mirror. His hair is slightly dishevelled and he is still in his school uniform. Leaning closer to the mirror, Junmyeon realizes that there are specks of dried blood on his cheek and all over his uniform. The blood must have been smeared on him while he was lugging Yixing’s body to the hospital. Curious on what the time it is now, he retrieves his phone out of his pocket. 1.05 a.m. School will be starting in around seven hours. 

While Junmyeon is washing his face, he mulls over what happened earlier. Yixing seems so different somehow. From his carefree laughs to his enchanting smile, Yixing behaves like any other normal teenager would. 

Feeling his cheeks burn, Junmyeon widens his eyes.

_ ‘Wait! Why am I blushing?’ _

Junmyeon grabs both sides of the sink with his head bent low.

_ ‘Zhang Yixing, what have you done to me?’ _

-

When Junmyeon returns, he notices a nurse currently attending to Yixing. There is also a tray of food on the table beside Yixing’s bed now. 

“Here are the discharge papers. Sign these and pay your fees to the counter outside and then you’re good to go,” the nurse kindly explains. 

After the nurse has left, Junmyeon takes out his wallet when Yixing stops him.

“It’s okay, Junmyeon,” Yixing assures him. “My consigliere will take care of everything. He is heading towards here as we speak.

Junmyeon freezes. For a moment, he has totally forgotten that Yixing is indeed the son of a mafia boss.

Noting the change of expression in Junmyeon’s face, Yixing adds with a smile, “Why don’t you go home? I think you’ve done more than enough for me.”

There it is again. His blinding smile.

“Nah it’s fine. I already told my mum that I’ll be staying the night here anyway. Besides, my heart can’t rest till you leave this place,” Junmyeon plops himself back on his chair, missing the way Yixing gives him a look of gratitude. 

While Yixing is helping himself to his tray of food, Junmyeon busies himself by playing games in his phone. Midway through the game, his phone shuts down by itself. Junmyeon leans back against his chair, groaning. He has forgotten to bring his phone charger again. And at that exact moment, Junmyeon’s stomach starts to grumble loudly, much to his embarrassment. 

“Do you want some of my food, Junmyeon?” Yixing offers. Junmyeon quickly shakes his head no, feeling his cheeks flushing.

“Come on. Don’t act so tough. You haven’t eaten anything, have you?” Yixing probes.

“I’m fine! I swear!” Junmyeon assures the other boy.

“Just eat!” Yixing insists. 

Without warning, Yixing reaches out to grab the back of Junmyeon’s hand while his other hand shoves a spoonful of food into Junmyeon’s mouth.

“You’ve got some sauce at the corner of your mouth, you messy eater!” Yixing laughs.

Junmyeon feels his face burning. “W-What? It was you who fed me!”

There is the sound of a throat clearing behind them, and both of them whip their heads around to see a tall man dressed in a dark suit. 

“Ah Show,” Yixing lights up in recognition. “Take care of everything, will you?”

_ ‘This must be his consigliere,’ _ Junmyeon thinks to himself. 

Once the man in suit has left, Yixing turns back to Junmyeon again with a huge smile.

“Now, let’s continue feeding you.”

Junmyeon cannot find it in himself to argue.

-

“Once again, thank you for everything, Junmyeon,” Yixing speaks up as he, Junmyeon and Show exit the hospital. 

“Really, it’s not a big deal,” Junmyeon assures the other boy.

“How about we give you a ride home?” Yixing offers but is met with a shake of a head by Junmyeon.

“Then I hope you’ll reach home safely,” Yixing smiles, showing a dimple, and Junmyeon tries to control his cheeks from burning. 

-

After wasting the rest of the hours in a 24-hour café, Junmyeon heads straight to school, not surprised that he is the first one to be present in class. When more students come pouring into his classroom, just like usual, his classmates gather at Junmyeon’s desk, talking about the latest gossip before the first lesson commences. 

“Junmyeon, is that blood on your shirt?” Baekhyun points out.

“I had a nosebleed,” Junmyeon smoothly lies. 

“Yeah I had one of those days too,” Jongdae chimes in. 

Half-heartedly listening to his classmates’ conversation, Junmyeon straightens up in his seat when he notices Yixing entering the classroom. He does not expect Yixing to actually turn up for school today. Yixing’s head is still covered with bandages and Junmyeon cannot help but feel concerned if Yixing is still feeling dizzy from his head wound. 

Once again, Junmyeon notices his classmates distancing themselves away from Yixing’s desk. Right now, Yixing is furiously rubbing on the surface of his own desk with a piece of tissue paper. 

Unable to ignore it any longer, Junmyeon abruptly stands up, pushing his chair backwards, instantly stopping his classmates’ excited chatter.

“Junmyeon?” Chanyeol questions and the rest of them exchange scandalized expressions with each other as they witness Junmyeon approaching Yixing’s desk.

Junmyeon surveys Yixing’s desk as he takes in words like ‘die!’ and ‘leave this school, you killer!’ scribbled in red permanent marker. Clenching his fists, Junmyeon quickly gets into work of scrubbing the stains off Yixing’s desk.

“Junmyeon…” Yixing’s soft voice calls out to him.

Junmyeon lifts his head to smile at the other boy. “Hey. Are you feeling better?”

Yixing nods. “Yes. Thanks to you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Junmyeon smiles back as he turns his attention back to the desk. Yixing smiles too before resuming his work to remove the stains. Junmyeon can feel the hard stares of his classmates drilling holes into his back and ignores them.

-

“What’s up with that earlier, Junmyeon?” Luhan frowns as they head to the school cafeteria.

“We were all shocked when you went to his table!” Seulgi adds, and her clique of other girls nod their heads vigorously.

“Are you taking a weird interest in the freak?” Jongdae pats Junmyeon’s shoulder. “It won’t last long.”

“Yesterday, he had a black eye. Today, he has a head wound. Maybe tomorrow he’ll lost a leg!” Baekhyun guffaws and the rest joins in his laughter.

“Shut up!” Junmyeon yells at them and they instantly stop laughing, their eyes widening in shock. They have never heard Junmyeon raise his voice at them before. “You guys know nothing about him. I’m going to head to the library. Go to the cafeteria without me.”

-

Rage coursing through his veins, Junmyeon finds himself speedily walking towards the school library before he realizes something. 

Did he just yell at his friends just now? 

Slowing down his pace, Junmyeon covers his face in embarrassment. He feels guilty for yelling at his friends as he has never done that before. To think that the first time he would ever lash out at his friends is because of Yixing.

A loud commotion snaps Junmyeon out of his thoughts. Near the staircase, there is a rather large-sized boy crouching on the ground, shielding his face and body with his arms as four others boys standing around him are kicking at him repeatedly while shouting towards him. 

“Tall fucker!”

“Useless!”

“Go back to your country, dimwit!”

Unable to watch the scene any longer, Junmyeon yells at them, “Stop kicking him!”

The four bullies stop with their kicking as they look up at the newcomer to the scene. Junmyeon recognizes them as the school’s troublemakers who are always harassing other students who are weaker than they are.

“Or what?” One of the bullies spits out bitterly.

“Let’s just give this kid a thrashing down he would never forget!” another one chimes in, and silently agreeing with each other, they all stalk towards Junmyeon, like a group of predators cornering a prey.

Taking a few steps backwards, Junmyeon feels his back hitting a wall. There is no escape. He is definitely going to get beaten up. 

“You idiots lay a finger on Junmyeon and I’ll beat all your asses up,” a voice beside Junmyeon smoothly says. Junmyeon watches intently as the four troublemakers’ faces turn deathly pale before scurrying away in record speed.

“Yixing!” Junmyeon is incredibly relieved that the other boy happens to be in the area. Otherwise, Junmyeon would be returning to class with bruises all over his face. 

“Hey you. Are you okay?” Yixing smiles at him.

“I’m fine. Thanks to you,” Junmyeon admits before he remembers about the bullied boy. 

“Hey. It’s alright. The troublemakers are gone now,” Junmyeon holds out his hand that the bullied boy meekly accepts and stands to his full height which is about two heads taller than Junmyeon. 

“T-thank you,” the boy speaks up, his deep voice booming and with a thick accent. “M-My name is W-Wu Yifan. I’m a t-transfer student from G-Guangzhou, China. As y-you can s-see, I have a s-speech impediment. The b-bullies were making f-fun of my s-speech impediment. They are s-so mean.”

“I’m Junmyeon,” Junmyeon introduces himself before pointing to Yixing. “And he is Yixing. I’m sorry about the bullies earlier. They really love to cause trouble for everyone. Anyway, are you alright? Any injuries?”

“I’m f-fine. I’m a b-big boy. I’ll s-see you two around,” Yifan bows towards both Junmyeon and Yixing before leaving.

“Do you treat everyone like this, Junmyeon?” Junmyeon whips his head around as he detects an unusual emotion in Yixing’s voice. “Do you always fuss over other people? Is it in your nature to help other people?”

“Yixing, what are you talking about?” Junmyeon is confused.

“I’m just one of the many people you fuss over, aren’t I?” Yixing’s face is mixed with hurt and disappointment. Before Junmyeon could even reply, Yixing leaves in a huff.

-

Junmyeon really cannot comprehend the 180-degree change in Yixing’s behaviour. 

During the rest of the week, Yixing acts cold towards him, pushing his hands away when he wanted to help clean the other boy’s table, and ignoring him when he smiled at him when they shared eye contact. Yixing’s frosty attitude continues even after the weekends have passed. Sensing that Yixing must be really furious with him for some reason, Junmyeon stops in his attempts in interacting with the other boy.  

Even though his group of friends never say it openly, Junmyeon is certain that they are relieved that he is no longer associating himself with Yixing.

At the school cafeteria, Junmyeon spots Yixing sitting alone at the corner, helping himself to his lunchbox. Some of the students from the neighbouring tables are throwing spit balls at Yixing’s direction. 

“Who is that tall boy? He’s so hot!” Sooyoung squeals, and Junmyeon shifts his gaze to look at the boy she is referring to. 

“He’s Yifan,” Junmyeon blurts out before he can stop himself.

At once, the whole table is filled with loud, surprised gasps.

“You know him, Junmyeon?” Chanyeol asks, his eyes as wide as saucers.

“Ask him to sit with us, Junmyeon!” Seulgi pleads. 

Soon, the whole table is begging Junmyeon with the same request.

“Fine,” Junmyeon complies, and his friends erupt into loud cheers. He calls out Yifan who seems pleasantly surprised but does not hesitate to sit with them. As Yifan squeezes beside Junmyeon, a loud crash is sounded.

Everyone in the school cafeteria is shocked to see a table being completely overturned. 

Yixing is nowhere to be seen either. 

-

Later, during PE lesson, Junmyeon’s class is assigned to play dodgeball. The class will be divided into two teams, with the Seulgi and Luhan being team captains. Seulgi has the first pick so without hesitation, she chooses Junmyeon, to Luhan’s fury. This is a normal occurrence for the class. Junmyeon will always be picked first while Yixing will be picked last. 

The game proceeds smoothly at first. That is, until two mischievous boys viciously aim the ball directly on Yixing’s face. The whistle blows, indicating the game to be stopped. 

“Chinese kid, you okay?” Mr. Yang, their PE teacher asks Yixing whose nose is bleeding. “Just accept it like a man and don’t be a wuss.”

Annoyed, Junmyeon speaks up, “I’ll bring Yixing to the sick bay.”

The rest of the class watches silently as Junmyeon carries Yixing to the sick bay. 

-

“Why have you been ignoring me?” Junmyeon decides to just go straight to the point. Once they arrived in the sick bay, the school nurse merely leads them to a bed and provides them with two boxes of tissue before scurrying away. Junmyeon does not mind since he gets some alone time with Yixing and the other boy is not in any state to run away from him. 

When Yixing merely dabs on his bloody nose without offering any response, Junmyeon reaches out and shakes the entire bed that Yixing is currently lying on. “Answer me!”

“Fine! I was angry!” Yixing shouts back. “I was angry that you helped me last week and for making me feel things. Only to have my feelings trampled on! You only helped me because you pitied me! Well, I don’t need your pity!”

“Yixing, I helped you last week because I was genuinely concerned about you. I didn’t have any ulterior motive,” Junmyeon clarifies firmly. “I didn’t do it out of pity.”

“Even if you don’t, you treat everyone the same,” Yixing adds bitterly. “When I saw you fussing over that Yifan boy last week, I realize that I’m just one of the many people you fuss over too. I’m no one special. You were the first person to ever treat me with kindness unconditionally, Junmyeon. All my life, I’m surrounded by enemies, people who fear me and a whole mafia who has as much feelings as a robot.”

“Why did you help me?” Yixing fixes Junmyeon with a glare. “Aren’t you terrified to help someone who is involved in a mafia?”

“I don’t see you as a violent person, Yixing,” Junmyeon calmly replies. “That time, when you fought with the hooligans who trespassed our school, I saw everything from the school courtyard. You didn’t throw the first punch till one of the hooligans shoved Miss Yoon to the ground. That hooligan pushed her so roughly that she dislocated her shoulder, right? So, that’s when I knew that you would never resort to violence unless provoked.”

Yixing sees the sincerity in Junmyeon’s eyes before shaking his head. 

“You’re really unbelievable, Kim Junmyeon,” Yixing responds, but his voice no longer holds the fury and coldness that it had earlier. Silence falls on the pair until Junmyeon breaks the quietness.

“Can I be your friend, Yixing?” Junmyeon asks bravely. 

“I’ve never had a friend before,” Yixing admits before smiling. “Sure, you can.”

Junmyeon returns with a broad smile of his own before pulling a tissue out of the box to wipe off the dried blood on Yixing’s face.

-

After school, Yixing and Junmyeon head to the nearest park to eat their ice cream together. As they are enjoying their ice cream, Yixing feels his phone vibrating in his pocket.

“Who is it from?” Junmyeon asks. 

Yixing frowns at the text message that he just received, his mind elsewhere.

“Yixing?” Junmyeon probes. 

“It’s just one of our main warehouses has just been raided by another rival mafia,” Yixing blurts out without thinking. Realizing what he has done, he fixes Junmyeon with a steely gaze. “You’re not meant to know this, Junmyeon. I can tell you anything about my life but not about my mafia business.”

“But we’re  _ friends _ now, Yixing. You can tell me anything. I swear I won’t tell anyone else,” Junmyeon insists.

Yixing hesitates. He has no idea how friendships work but he guesses he has to trust Junmyeon on this.

“Like I said, one of our main warehouses was broken into a few hours ago. This warehouse contains our largest supply of drugs. Cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine. They are all worth millions of dollars and they are stolen. And it’s the same mafia who exploded our smaller warehouse the other day,” Yixing shows Junmyeon a blurry picture of a menacing-looking dragon spray painted on a wall. “This is their symbol. They really have a lot of nerve trying to go up against the Zhang Mafia. Not to mention, they killed one of my deputies who was guarding the warehouse and even decapitated him. They even placed his head on the front entrance of the warehouse.”

Junmyeon shudders at that but his curiosity is growing bigger the more he knows. “What’s the symbol for your mafia?” 

“It’s a unicorn,” Yixing supplies before showing the other boy their mafia symbol. Yixing hurriedly keeps his phone inside his pocket as he swallows a lump in his throat. “I just find it fishy that this Dragon gang managed to locate our main warehouse because only members in the Zhang Mafia know about the main warehouses.” 

“Maybe there’s a spy within the Zhang Mafia,” Junmyeon suggests.

“A traitor?” Yixing frowns at him.

“Yeah. Otherwise, how did the rival mafia know about it?”

Yixing scoffs. “That’s ridiculous. All my men have sworn their utmost allegiance to the Zhang Mafia. If any one of them violated their oath, they get killed without warning.”

“Did they swear it to you?” Junmyeon probes.

Yixing pauses. “No. They swore it to my late father. I am now the leader of the Zhang Mafia after my father died so they obey me now.”

“Have you ever considered that they might not be keen on following you?”  

Yixing grits his teeth. “Junmyeon, just shut up.”

“I’m just saying! When they don’t like their new leader, they would probably not be as loyal to the mafia anymore.”

“You know nothing about mafia, Junmyeon! You are just spewing out complete nonsense! Mafia is about  _ fucking _ loyalty. You know nothing because you live your own perfectly normal life! You are surrounded by people who love you and care for you.  Every damn day, I live completely on guard, not knowing if I might live to see another day. So, you have no idea the hardships that a person like me – the son of a fearsome mafia boss - has to go through since my childhood. And with my father dead, I am now the new boss and I suddenly have more responsibilities to uphold so I have to step up my game otherwise my late father’s men would lose trust on me! So, stop acting like you know everything about me!”

Shocked by the other boy’s sudden outburst, Junmyeon slowly rises from his seat, grabbing his school bag. 

“You’re right. I don’t know anything about you,” Junmyeon says quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“Junmyeon! Wait!” Yixing shouts at Junmyeon who suddenly breaks into a run to God knows where. Rubbing a hand over his face, Yixing sighs heavily before getting up and chasing after Junmyeon. 

-

An uneasy feeling sinks in Junmyeon’s stomach when he finds the door to his house wide open. The sound of shouts and wails and a deafening crash can be heard even from outside. Junmyeon rushes inside and feels his blood boil when he finds his father dragging his crying mother by her hair and throwing her bruised body to the wall like a ragdoll. 

“Stop hurting my mother, you asshole!” Junmyeon shoves his father to the floor with all of his might. He tries to ignore the foul smell of alcohol from his father. 

“You little shit!” his father staggers to his feet and grabs Junmyeon’s wrist to throw the smaller boy to the floor. Groaning, Junmyeon watches in horror as his father picks up one large shard of a broken beer bottle. Junmyeon feels ready to join his older brother soon when Yixing suddenly appears and punches his father across the face. In one smooth motion, Yixing unties the shoelaces from one of his shoes and wraps it around his father’s neck before tightening it. Gasping for air, his father’s face turns paler and paler by the second as his air flow is forcefully blocked. Junmyeon nearly feels like crying when he sees how murderous Yixing’s eyes look right now.

“Yixing, stop,” Junmyeon pleads. “ _ Please _ . Not in front of my mother.”

Hearing Junmyeon’s weak pleads, Yixing reluctantly complies and loosens his hold around Junmyeon’s father who is now reduced to dry hacking coughs.  

Yixing kicks Junmyeon’s father hard. “Scram you bastard. If you dare to return, I swear I’m going to end your life.”

Once his father staggers to his feet to quickly leave the house, Junmyeon quickly runs to his mother’s side. Junmyeon weeps as he surveys the bruises and blood all over his mother’s face and body. But luckily, his mother is still alive. Junmyeon sobs in happiness and relief.  

“Junmyeon…I didn’t know,” Yixing says slowly. 

“Not now, Yixing,” Junmyeon stops him, wiping off his tears. “I’ll tell you the whole story later.”

-

After attending to his mother’s injuries and tucking her to bed, Junmyeon tells Yixing the story about his life in the living room – or rather, what used to be his living room with all the broken tables, smashed lamps and torn couches. 

“My family used to be very happy,” Junmyeon begins. “We used to go out as four for outings regularly. We would go to the amusement parks, museums, beaches and even picnics. We used to be so inseparable. But as I was turning 15, my father was suddenly fired from his job. His workplace was going through some restructuring so they had to let go of some of their workers. It was either firing the senior workers or younger ones. They chose the former. Ever since then, my father started to drink more heavily, and he became more prone to violence. Every night, he would return home, reeking of alcohol and smoke. Sometimes, he would arrive home and beat the rest of us with his belt. He has become more apathetic and inconsiderate. He refuses to find a job because he is certain that he is going to get pushed aside again for the younger, more inexperienced employees. So, my mother and older brother decide to step up and start working to make ends meet for the rest of us. My older brother even quitted school for that. Things were starting to look up when one day, my father wants to use some of the hard-earned money for gambling. That angered my older brother so they both got into a fight while my mother and I stayed away, hiding in the corner. My father was heavily drunk then so he was even angrier. Without warning, he pulled a knife from the kitchen and stabbed my brother in the stomach repeatedly. My mother and I screamed for my father to stop. After getting tired of stabbing my brother, he left with the money.  _ He just freaking left! _ We tried calling for the ambulance but it was already too late.”

Junmyeon breaks down into sobs as he recalls the horrible night. That time, he already knew that his family would never be the same. But he did not expect to lose his loving older brother in the process. 

An arm is soon draped over Junmyeon and seems to be just stuck there so he lifts his head to see a sheepish-looking Yixing. “What are you doing?”

“Hugging you?” Yixing says, unsure. “Isn’t this what people do to comfort other people?”

Junmyeon laughs as he wipes off his tears. “That’s not how you do it.”

Junmyeon brings one hand to the small of Yixing’s back, pulling the other boy close. With his other hand, Junmyeon places gently around Yixing’s neck, resting his own head on Yixing’s broad shoulder. “ _ This _ is how you hug a person.”

“I’m sorry this happened to you, Junmyeon,” Yixing says softly. “I’m sorry that you lost your older brother.”

Junmyeon shakes his head. “It’s okay. Thank you for listening, Yixing.”

Nodding, Yixing slowly lifts his arms to hug Junmyeon back. This closeness and warmth is something Yixing has never experienced before in his life. He is able to hear Junmyeon’s heartbeat against his own. When Yixing closes his eyes and concentrates, he is able to hear both of their hearts beating as one. 

-

The next day in school, Junmyeon sits beside Yixing in the school cafeteria. Junmyeon’s friends seem to be quite annoyed at this change of pace but Junmyeon does not pay them any heed. 

“Why do you always bring a lunch box every day?” Junmyeon asks, eyeing Yixing’s homemade lunch.

“Because my enemies might poison me with the school food,” Yixing whispers to Junmyeon. 

Junmyeon immediately recalls the recent incident when a group of students were down from food poisoning from eating the cafeteria food. “So you mean…”

“Yeah. They might be hiding in this school, maybe even in plain sight. I suspect that they’re disguising themselves as students too,” Yixing supplies. 

Junmyeon hums in response but does not want to pursue that topic any longer. 

“What are you going to do this weekend? Seulgi is hosting her birthday party on Sunday. Do you want to come along?” Junmyeon asks as he bites down on his tuna sandwich.

“Are you kidding? I’m not even invited,” Yixing laughs. “Anyway, I’m going to the Central Library on the same day anyway. So, I couldn’t go even if I was invited.”

“Central Library? But that’s really far. It’s all the way in Seocho,” Junmyeon muses.

“I love going there. They have so many books on Korean history and world history. And they provide Chinese translations which are incredibly helpful for me. Because not everyone is as good in Korean as Mr. Kim Junmyeon,” Yixing teases the other boy. 

Once again, Junmyeon feels his cheeks burning but this time, he is not as bothered as before.

-

After the day of lessons has ended, Yixing leaves first as he has something important to attend to. It must be some top-secret meeting with the deputies from his mafia but Junmyeon does not want to pry. Once Junmyeon exits from his classroom, he spots Yifan outside, fidgeting uncontrollably. 

“Hey, Yifan! Are you waiting for someone?” Junmyeon asks. 

At the sound of his name, Yifan almost jumps before realizing that it is Junmyeon. 

“H-Hi, Junmyeon. I-I was actually w-waiting for you,” he admits shyly. 

“Me? What do you want to meet me for?” Junmyeon scratches his head. 

“A-As you know, I-I’m horrible in my K-Korean and my s-studies so I want you to h-help me in them,” Yifan says meekly, playing with his fingers. 

“Oh sure! When?” Junmyeon readily agrees as he remembers that the mid-examinations are fast approaching.

“R-Really? How about t-tomorrow? In s-school?” Yifan eagerly asks.

“No problem! See you tomorrow, Yifan!” Junmyeon pats the giant’s shoulder before waving him goodbye. 

-

Teaching Yifan is actually more challenging than he thought. Junmyeon tries hard not to pull on his hair as Yifan asks very simple questions about almost everything, from Korean to math to science to history. At times, Yifan can be really inconsistent. He would already know the concept of a science formula inside and out, and after Junmyeon has taught him, he was able to solve the formula-related questions without a problem. Then, exactly fifteen minutes later, he would ask Junmyeon to help him with the application even though they were similar questions. 

Pushing aside Yifan’s books, Junmyeon takes out his phone to check out the latest news. He begins scrolling down the news app in his phone when his eye catches a familiar word in a headline.

_ ‘Central Library caught on fire. 11 casualties.’ _

Panic surges through Junmyeon as he hurriedly combs the entire news article for any more useful information but he finds none as it has just been reported in all major news outlets a few minutes ago. As the seconds tick by, a trickle of anxiety worms through his stomach as he grows concerned over Yixing’s safety. There is no other choice. He has to find out the truth himself. 

Junmyeon abruptly stands up and is ready to leave when a hand grasps his wrist. 

“J-Junmyeon, where are you g-going?” Yifan looks distraught.

“I’m sorry, Yifan! I have to leave now!” Junmyeon shakes himself free and breaks into a run to the train station.

-

During the entire train ride, Junmyeon finds himself growing more terrified over Yixing’s safety. Several possibilities rush through his mind. What if Yixing is one of the eleven casualties? What if the news fail to report on the seriousness of the casualty and that maybe Yixing is close to dying? 

_ What if Yixing has already died?  _

Once he has arrived in Seocho, Junmyeon rushes to the Central Library and sees a yellow police tape covering the entire library building. From where he stands, he sees an unmoving body lying on a stretcher, his height and build almost matching Yixing’s. Gripped with worry, Junmyeon jumps over the police tape and flies to his knees near the seemingly unconscious man whose face is covered with an ice pack. 

“Yixing! Oh God! Please be alive! Yixing! Yixing!” Junmyeon shakes the man repeatedly, tears running down his face. 

“Who is Yixing?” a small voice sounds in front of him and Junmyeon opens his eyes to see the man giving him a very odd stare. “My name is Sehun.”

Mouth gaping, Junmyeon realizes that the injured man before him is not Yixing. 

“Junmyeon?”

Junmyeon whips his head around and spots Yixing standing outside the police tape. And with not even a single visible bruise on his body. 

“What’s wrong-” Yixing begins but stops when Junmyeon roughly embraces him. Feeling taken aback, Yixing wonders what is going on but returns the hug anyway, patting on Junmyeon’s back. 

“I saw the news about the fire breakout. They said there were-eleven casualties. I was so w-worried. Worried that you w-were one of them,” Junmyeon struggles to speak through his sobs. “I was scared that you would be gone. And I realized that I would feel so devastated if you were really gone. So, I had to go and find it out for myself.”

“I’m alright, Junmyeon. I was outside when the fire broke out,” Yixing gently shushes the crying man. He pauses when he feels his shoulder getting wet. He gently pushes Junmyeon away to see the other boy’s expression. Yixing gasps when he sees Junmyeon’s face wet with tears pooling down his cheeks.

“Junmyeon…are you crying?” Yixing cups Junmyeon’s cheeks with both of his hands. “For me?”

“I-I guess I am…” Junmyeon sniffles. 

“No one has ever cried for me before…” Yixing mutters as he slowly takes in Junmyeon before him. It is the first time that he has taken such a closer look on Junmyeon’s face. His stunning brown eyes, his perfect nose, his pink lips. 

Junmyeon simply looks  _ so _ beautiful.

“Junmyeon I-” Yixing stops himself before diving in for a kiss. When he is met with no reaction, Yixing pushes his lips forward, savouring Junmyeon’s taste in his mouth. Just when he is feeling worried about Junmyeon’s lack of response, he feels Junmyeon placing his hand at the back of his neck, deepening the kiss. Yixing smiles into the kiss.

_ Looks like our feelings for each other are mutual. _

When they let go of each other for air, Yixing pops the question, “What does this make us?”

“I don’t know…I guess…lovers?” Junmyeon smiles at the other boy.

“Lovers it is then,” Yixing beams as he gives the other boy a nose rub. 

-

The sun is slowly setting over the horizon, and both Yixing and Junmyeon are slowly moving their swings that they are currently seated on back and forth with their hands linked together. 

“Before he died, my father would always force me to practise shooting using different types of guns. On how to use certain knives and all sorts of weapons. He taught me to kill. All he cared about was a successor to his empire. But I’m not a killer. So, when I managed to trap my enemies, I would purposely miss their vital areas when I shot them and let the other mafia members kill them. I know this might sound like a lie but I’ve never killed anyone before.”

Junmyeon squeezes their hands together. “I believe you.”

Yixing turns to give Junmyeon a smile. “You remember the gang of hooligans who trespassed our school? My father personally sent them to train me in my fighting skills. I didn’t want to fight them but when they hurt an innocent person in front of me, I had no choice but to fight. Or they would hurt more people.” 

“I don’t even want to be part of the mafia. I want to live my life like any other normal teenager would. Grow up in a normal family. Have lots of friends. Pursue my own dreams.”

“What do you dream to be?” Junmyeon asks.

Yixing grins at Junmyeon. “I want to be a doctor.”

“You would make an amazing doctor, Yixing,” Junmyeon cups the side of his lover’s face. “Or should I call you, Dr. Zhang?”

Yixing chuckles lightly before staring into Junmyeon’s eyes intensely. “I’m glad I met you, Junmyeon. All my life, no one has ever cared for me. Even when I had a fever and even when I sustained serious injuries, no one gave a damn about me. There were numerous times where I was close to death but no one bothered to check up on me. That’s why I was surprised when you cried for me. For the first time of my life, I found someone who genuinely cares for me. And for the first time of my life, I fall in love.”

Once the sun has slowly set below the horizon, Junmyeon has a suggestion.

“Hey, let’s go to the birthday party.”

“But I’m not invited, Junmyeon,” Yixing says.

“Yeah but you’ve never experienced a birthday party before, right? Come on, Yixing, let’s do this. I want you to know how it feels like to be a normal teenager. If anything bad crops up during the party, we’ll leave immediately,” Junmyeon promises.

Smiling at Junmyeon’s enthusiasm, Yixing gives his answer, “Sure.”

Junmyeon claps his hands excitedly. “Great! But we have to get you some new fancy clothes!”

-

“Junmyeon! You came!” Seulgi smiles broadly as she opens the door. “And your outfit is so cute!”

Junmyeon is wearing a white sweatshirt with tiny black bunny prints plastered all over it. A pair of navy blue jeans complete the look. “Thanks! And I brought a plus one.”

Seulgi’s expression falters when she spots Yixing who is currently wearing a stylish black denim jacket over a black muscle shirt with a pair of navy blue jeans. Junmyeon has told him beforehand that they are wearing ‘couple jeans’. 

“Hello, Seulgi,” Yixing greets her. 

“O-Oh. Come in then,” Seulgi pushes the door wider for the two newcomers to enter her house.

From outside, the house is rather boisterous with numerous people talking at the same time but it soon become completely silent once they all spot Yixing. 

“Relax, guys. A massacre isn’t going to happen,” Junmyeon rolls his eyes. Some of the party-goers nervously laugh at Junmyeon’s joke. 

“You guys better treat my boyfriend properly,” Junmyeon declares before pecking a kiss on Yixing’s left cheek. Loud gasps spread all around. Yixing is about lean down to kiss Junmyeon on the lips when some of Junmyeon’s friends hastily pull his boyfriend away.

“Junmyeon, are you on drugs or something? Are you possessed by some evil spirit or something?” Baekhyun frowns, one hand holding a cup of fruit punch. “What nonsense are you spurting about earlier?”

“Dating  _ that _ freak? Junmyeon, you’re beyond help,” Jongdae agrees. 

In response, Junmyeon reaches out to grab Baekhyun’s cup to splash the fruit punch on both of their faces. “Shame on you guys.”

Junmyeon throws the empty cup to the floor before walking back towards Yixing but is shocked to find his boyfriend nowhere to be found. An instant panic grips his heart.

_ I shouldn’t have left him alone. _

Meanwhile, Yixing is currently being led somewhere but he cannot see because a blindfold is obstructing his vision. He feels his back resting against a hard, narrow surface and without warning, he feels his hands being pulled and tied together by a coarse material. Panicking, Yixing struggled in his binds as he hears menacing laughter echoing inside the room.

“You don’t have Junmyeon to protect you now, do you?” 

“Come on, guys. Let’s beat him to a pulp!”

At once, Yixing feels a rod-like material mercilessly hitting him in the stomach. Soon, there are multiple items hitting him on the abdomen at the same time, leaving him breathless. 

“Die, you scum!”

Yixing braces himself for a powerful attack when a familiar voice resonates in the room. 

“What the  _ fuck _ is the matter with you all?”

Soon enough, the blindfold around his eyes is removed and his bound wrists are untied. Yixing gives a weak smile at Junmyeon who is currently staring down at all of Yixing’s attackers who all used to be his close friends.  

“I’m very disappointed in all of you,” Junmyeon spits out and gently places a hand on the small of Yixing’s back. “We’re leaving.” 

As they exit Seulgi’s house, Junmyeon whispers to Yixing while fighting back a sob, “I’m sorry, Yixing. I just wanted you to experience how it feels like to be a normal teenager. But it became a disaster instead.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Yixing gently presses his lips on Junmyeon’s temple. “You had sincere intentions. Besides, the night is still young.”

“Where do you suggest we go?” Junmyeon tilts his head questioningly.

“I have an idea,” Yixing says as he pulls out his phone from his pocket.

-

“The beach?” Junmyeon says in awe. Even under the moonlit sky, the beach looks truly beautiful with the sand beneath his toes still warm from the day’s heat, and the sea’s white-tipped waves rolling gently into the shore.

“You mentioned before that you used to go here with your family, right?” Yixing walks up and stands beside his lover. “Well, I want to go here too and experience how fun it is with you.”

Hearing that, Junmyeon gazes at Yixing softly, reaching out to grab his lover’s hand. “I’ll make sure to make this memorable for you.”

Yixing smiles, taking his lover’s hand and bringing it to his lips. 

“I asked Show to buy these boxes for me,” Yixing holds two rectangular boxes up for Junmyeon to see. “He said this will be enjoyable to play in the beach. But I have no idea what they are.”

“These are called ‘sparklers’, Yixing,” Junmyeon opens a box and quickly lights up two sparklers, the light illuminating their faces and eyes. “What we do with these is that we twirl them around like they are magical wands.”

“That’s it?” Yixing questions, a pout gracing his lips.

“That’s it,” Junmyeon smiles, handing Yixing one lit sparkler. 

Soon, the two lovers run around the empty and vast beach, twirling their sparklers around, forming each other’s names while laughing and shrieking. After an hour of playing, they become exhausted so Yixing calls up Show to drive them both to the nearest hotel.

That night, in the hotel room that they share, with the lights turned off and only the moon shining through their window, hands and mouths find each other in the dark as small whimpers and moans are sounded from their bed. As Junmyeon holds Yixing closely to him, his body quakes and tremble in his lover’s arms, while exchanging ‘I love you’s’ during their climax. 

With Junmyeon snoring softly beside him, Yixing quietly speaks to his consigliere on his phone.

“I’m going to quit, Show. I don’t want to do it anymore. I’ve finally found my true happiness in life and I’m going to spend the rest of my life with him without any of this mafia bullshit. And don’t worry, I’ll tell the rest of them tomorrow.”

Once he ends the call, Yixing pulls up the bed covers over the both of them before pressing his body closer to Junmyeon’s. Unbeknownst to Yixing, elsewhere, his consigliere flings his phone across the room, snapping it into two while clenching his fists tightly.

-

Junmyeon takes his own sweet time walking to school since it hurts a little to walk. Recalling what happened the day before, Junmyeon smiles softly to himself. Today, Yixing will not be present in school as he has to gather up his mafia members for a final meeting. Junmyeon hopes that it will go well.

As soon as he reaches the school grounds, he receives the shock of his life. Four bodies are hung limply from the fourth floor of the school building, blood trickling all the way to the ground below. It is a horrifying sight.

From out of nowhere, all his friends start running towards him and speaking at the same time.

“Junmyeon! You should break up with Yixing while you can!” Baekhyun grabs both of Junmyeon’s shoulders, shaking him vigorously. 

“It’s going to be a matter of time before he kills us all!” Jongdae shrieks. 

“Junmyeon, Yixing is bad news. We’ve all tried to warn you. Look at what happened now!” Seulgi cries, her eyes wide with horror. 

Pushing Baekhyun away, Junmyeon yells at all about them, “Yixing would never do this! Just leave me alone!”

With that, Junmyeon rushes inside the school, ignoring the jolting pain that strikes his body. 

-

“J-Junmyeon?” 

Sighing to himself, Junmyeon looks up from his book to stare at the meek-looking Yifan. 

“What is it, Yifan?”

“I-I have something i-important to tell you.”

“Fine.” Junmyeon rises from his seat and follows Yifan to an empty space beside the school staircase.

“I l-love you, J-Junmyeon,” Yifan confesses, his face turning a bright red.

Junmyeon sighs once more. “I’m sorry, Yifan. I’m already attached.”

“Y-You should b-break up with him,” Yifan says seriously. 

“What did you just say?” Junmyeon frowns. 

“It w-was Yixing who k-killed the four students and h-held them up in p-public display,” Yifan bravely continues, as though ignoring the anger simmering inside Junmyeon. “Yixing is a k-killer!”

“No! He’s Zhang Yixing, and he’s my boyfriend!” Junmyeon brushes past Yifan.

“He’s from the  _ fucking  _ mafia, Junmyeon!” Yifan shouts behind him.

Junmyeon leaves in such a haste that he misses the fact that Yifan spoke a complete sentence in Korean like a native and without a stutter. 

-

As Junmyeon is leaving school, he spots Show, Yixing’s consigliere, wearing the same pristine suit and leaning against his car. 

“Junmyeon,” Show calls out, gesturing at the other boy to come closer.

“What is it?” Junmyeon asks in alarm.

“Something happened to Yixing. He sent me here to get you. Get inside the car. I’ll explain more on the way.”

Not wanting to disobey the consigliere, Junmyeon jumps inside the car, nervousness gripping his heart. 

_ What happened to Yixing? _

To Junmyeon’s surprise, Show brings him to a nearly empty café at a secluded corner in the city. 

“What are we doing here, Show? Are you going to explain everything to me now? You totally kept quiet throughout the entire car ride!” Junmyeon scowls at the consigliere, not caring that he is raising his voice. Yixing’s safety is the utmost importance to him.

“Calm down. Here, have some caramel macchiato. Yixing told me that it’s your favourite,” Show pushes a tall glass of beverage to Junmyeon. “Finish that drink and I’ll tell you more.”

Rolling his eyes, Junmyeon starts sipping on his drink, frowning at the way Show is fixing a hard gaze on him. 

_ Something just doesn’t feel right… _

At that moment, Junmyeon’s phone rings loudly from his pocket. The caller ID read: ‘ _ Yixing  _ _ ❤ _ ’ ’.

“Excuse me for a moment,” Junmyeon starts to rise from his seat. 

“Why can’t you take your call here?” Show comments.

“Because it is a personal call,” Junmyeon quips back. 

Show merely regards Junmyeon with interest. “Fine. You can take your call there.”

Following Show’s directions, Junmyeon leaves through the backdoor of the café that leads him to a narrow and desolate alley. There is no one else occupying the eerie space other than him but there is no time for careful observations.

“Hello? Yixing?” Junmyeon answers the call and is greeted by heavy breathing at the other line. “Yixing? What happened? Are you alright? Tell me you’re fine!”

_ “Junmyeon,” _ a hushed voice replies but there is no doubt that it belongs to Yixing.  _ “My gang turned against me. After I gathered them all here, I was about to give them my final announcement before I quit but they suddenly drew their guns of me and opened fire.” _

“My God! Did you get shot?” Junmyeon gasps.

_ “No, I managed to escape. Well, one managed to graze me but that’s not the problem here. Where are you now, Junmyeon?” _ Yixing’s voice becomes an urgent whisper.

“I’m with Show now. He told me that you asked him to come and get me,” Junmyeon replies.

_ “WHAT? I’ve never told him to do that! He is supposed to be with me!” _ Yixing shrieks. 

“What do you-” Before Junmyeon could finish his sentence, his phone is roughly snatched away from him. 

Junmyeon’s eyes widen in shock as he realizes that it is Yifan standing beside him. But instead of the meek and cowardly Yifan in school, this Yifan has a regal and confident stance. 

_ Is this the same Yifan? _

“Yifan, what are you doing here? And give me my phone back!” Junmyeon reaches his hand out to snatch his phone back but to his shock, Yifan traps both of his wrists with vice-like grip, nearly crushing his hands. 

“Hello, Yixing,” Yifan says smoothly, his deep voice now ringing with authority. Gone is his stubborn stutter, the Yifan standing before him is a totally different person. “How are you doing down there?”

_ “W-Who’s this? And where’s Junmyeon? Give his phone back!” _

“Now, now, where is the fun is that? Your cute boyfriend is with me, safe and sound. And he’s going to stay with me forever as I replace the Zhang Mafia with my own – the Wu Mafia.”

_ “So you are the-” _

“Say your prayers while you still can. You’re going to join your own father  _ real soon _ .”

Not even bothering to wait for a reply, Yifan kills the call and drops the phone to the floor before stepping on it.

“I can’t believe this, Yifan. To think I trusted you…” Junmyeon grits his teeth as he endures the pain from Yifan’s crushing grip.

“And you should’ve accepted my offer too. But that’s alright. Because I always get what I want,” Yifan captures Junmyeon’s lips with a kiss before releasing the other boy.

Feeling dazed all of a sudden, Junmyeon stares at Yifan whose face is swaying from side to side. Not just Yifan’s face, but the ground and the walls too. 

“You should really be careful about what you drink,” Yifan points out. “You never know when your drink is spiked.”

Like for a calling, Junmyeon feels his legs giving in but Yifan manages to catch him before he could hit the ground.

“Sleep, Princess,” Yifan whispers into his ears and he can barely register a dragon tattoo peeking from Yifan’s chest before blacking out. 

-

When Junmyeon regains consciousness, the first face that comes into focus is Wu Yifan’s. Snapping awake, Junmyeon is ready to throw a hard punch at him when he realizes that his hands are tied tightly behind his back.

“Now, now, there’s no need to be so feisty,” Yifan drawls out, as though mocking Junmyeon. “While you are here having your beauty sleep, your dearest boyfriend is already  _ dead _ .” 

Yifan’s words send a shaft of fear down Junmyeon’s spine. “He’s dead?’

“About time too,” Yifan spits out bitterly. “I’ve tried so many times to get rid of him from poisoning the school food to replacing the gym equipment with defective ones but he managed to avoid every single one. I even ordered one of my men to place a bomb in the Central Library but he escaped that one too. He may be a wuss but he’s very careful.”

“Stop calling him that,” Junmyeon grits his teeth. 

Yifan pauses in his spiel and walks towards Junmyeon before crouching in front of him. “His father gave him the largest and most powerful organization to inherit, and what did he do? He said he wanted no part of it! What a fool!”

Junmyeon spits directly at Yifan’s face. “Call him what you want but at least he never pretends what he is not!”

His body quaking with silent laughter, Yifan admits, “That’s right. I pretended to be dumb and meek. And it worked to my advantage because no one  _ ever _ suspects the fool. The four idiots who bullied me had it coming. No one ever beats me up and gets away with it.”

“It was you who killed them all along?” Junmyeon’s eyes widen in fear.

“That’s right,” Yifan says nonchalantly before ruffling Junmyeon’s hair. “And you’re going to be mine forever. I’m going to rule the mafia world and you’re going to stand beside me as my trophy wife.”

“Fuck you, Yifan!” Junmyeon yells before getting slapped across the face. 

“You know, I’m sick and tired of hearing you jabbering non-stop so I’m going to teach you a lesson,” Yifan growls as he snaps his fingers. At once, two bodies are dropped in front of him by his deputies.

“Mum! Dad!” Junmyeon screams but they are both tied up and gagged, unable to respond. 

“I’ve tried to be civil,” Yifan sighs dramatically as he runs his fingers through his now blonde hair. “But sometimes, people just don’t listen to you.”

Without warning, Yifan pulls out a gun from his pocket and shoots directly at the back of Junmyeon’s father’s head. Junmyeon’s mother let out a muffled scream as blood splatters all over her face. 

“Stop it!” Junmyeon yells. “Not in front of my mum!”

“Don’t worry, your mum is next,” Yifan smirks as he aims his gun to Junmyeon’s mother who is a sobbing mess. “You know, this reminds me when I gunned the great Zhang Junlong in his hometown in China.”

“You killed Zhang Junlong?” a voice sounds behind Junmyeon and he realizes that Show has been standing behind him all this time. 

“Yeah I did,” Yifan shrugs noncommittally. 

At once, Show draws out his gun, pointing it at Yifan. “I joined you, thinking that you would honour Junlong’s wishes to lengthen the Zhang Empire’s longevity but it turns out that you have killed him all along?” 

“He was a pathetic old man,” Yifan snorts. “Good riddance I killed him.”

“Why you…” Show is about to press the trigger when there is loud rumbling sound coming from outside. 

“What’s-” Before Yifan could finish his sentence, a speeding motorcycle barges into the warehouse, its wheels narrowly hitting Yifan’s back. At that exact moment, the entire warehouse is covered in darkness. 

Panic surging through him, Junmyeon almost yelps in surprise when he feels his mouth being covered and his entire body dragged to God knows where. Junmyeon silently prays that he is not about to meet his doom.

“Junmyeon, it’s me,” a familiar voice speaks up and Junmyeon’s eyes light up in recognition. 

“Yixing?” Junmyeon sucks in a breath.

“Yes, it’s me,” Yixing smiles, his dimple showing. 

“My God…I thought you were dead!” Junmyeon rubs his sore wrists after Yixing has finished untying them.

“Hey! Don’t pronounce me dead so easily!” Yixing flicks Junmyeon on the forehead gently.

“But Yifan said-” Yixing shuts his lover up with a kiss.

“Yifan didn’t know the full story. I had already suspected that the mafia won’t let me off so easily. So, I threw quite a lot of smoke grenades to make my escape and to find you.”

“How did you manage to find me?” 

“You mentioned that Show was with you, so I tracked down where Show was to find you. My late father placed a tracking device in all of his men’s phones so I used that to my advantage,” Yixing cast a wary glance at his surroundings. “Anyway, enough talk, Junmyeon. We have to make our escape now.”

“We have to get my mother! She has nothing to do with this!” Junmyeon exclaims.

“Your mother? Alright fine, change of plans. We’ll get your mother right now,” Yixing pinches the bridge of his nose. Why can’t everything go according to plan in the most critical moment?

“Boss!” The pair whips their head around to find Show walking towards them, Junmyeon’s mother in tow.

“Mum!” Junmyeon rushes to hug his mother. 

“I had never pegged you to be the traitor, Show,” Yixing snaps at his former consigliere. 

Show looks apologetic. “I’m sorry, Boss. I was quite irritated at how soft you became so I dropped all my expectations of you ever becoming our powerful leader. Yifan was so charismatic and I was drawn to him but when I found out that he killed your father all along, I turned against him.”

“That Yifan bastard is bad news indeed.”

_ “Are you talking about me?” _

Yixing quickly grabs hold of Junmyeon as his other hand is equipped with a pistol while Show has his gun locked on the target.

Limping in one leg, Yifan staggers forward as he aims his gun in front of him, hovering his aim between Yixing and Show. Smirking, he aims and shoots at Junmyeon. 

A scream rings through the night as Junmyeon’s mother shields Junmyeon from the shot. 

“MUM!” 

Junmyeon cries uncontrollably as he holds his mother’s limp body close to him. “Mum…please don’t go…”

“Fool…” Yifan mutters as he is shot clean through the heart before collapsing to the ground.

“Boss…” Show widens his eyes in disbelief. “You finally killed someone.”

“He fucking deserves it,” Yixing drops his pistol to the ground. He joins Junmyeon as they mourn over the death of Junmyeon’s mother, holding his lover close to his body. 

-

Epilogue

Junmyeon slowly sinks down to his knees as he places a bunch of blue violets on his mother’s grave. He has prepared his lines before coming here but somehow, his voice has died in his throat. Silence falls over the cemetery as Junmyeon unconsciously starts to trace the imprint of his mother’s name that is carved into the stone. 

“Hey, mum,” Junmyeon finally finds his voice. “I’m sorry for not spending as much time as I could with you while you were still alive. You were such a wonderful mother. So kind and sweet.” Junmyeon smiles to himself. “I hope you have reunited with my older brother in heaven. I’m going to go away for a very long time. I’m not sure when I’ll return but I’ll be back.” 

Shivering a little, Junmyeon wipes off his tears when a leather jacket is drabbed over his shoulders. Smiling, Junmyeon looks up at the platinum blonde male who is staring off in the distant.

“Thank you…”

There is a long pause. “…You’re welcome.”

As Junmyeon is wearing the motorcycle helmet, Yixing gives a small smile at his lover. “The pink hair suits you.”

“Thanks,” Junmyeon smiles through his helmet before climbing on the motorcycle and locking his arms around Yixing’s waist. Yixing places his hands over Junmyeon’s, as though assuring the other boy.

“I’m fine, Yixing,” Junmyeon laughs lightly. That is all the assurance he needs before he drives them off to the airport. 

While waiting for their flight, Junmyeon reads the front page of the newspaper which reports about a huge explosion in a non-descript warehouse and that among the dead bodies are those that belong to two high school students: Kim Junmyeon and Zhang Yixing. Both of their faces are plastered at the top right of the page. Junmyeon notes that the entire school has thrown a funeral for the both of them, and in one of the pictures are the grief-stricken faces of his former best friends Baekhyun and Jongdae. 

“Hey.” 

Junmyeon lifts his gaze to look at the platinum blonde male who is holding out a plane ticket towards him. 

“It’s time to board our plane to Paris.”

Putting on his sunglasses, Junmyeon accepts the ticket and hooks his arm around the other male’s. “Sure thing,  _ Lay _ .”

“Don’t forget,” Yixing whispers to the other male’s ear. “It’s me and you against the world now,  _ Suho _ .”

**~END~**


End file.
